Dance instructor Carlos Rubio has one question for people who haven’t considered learning to
salsa or merengue.

“How are you going to have rhythm?” joked the founder of Salsamante Dance Academy, which is
based in Dublin and where he teaches the two Caribbean styles as well as rumba, cha-cha and
bachata.

Inviting willing participants to spice up their weekend, Salsamante and Emerald City Ballroom in
Dublin, where the academy shares space, are hosting Columbus Salsa Weekend, a three-day event
celebrating the genre with lessons, performances and gatherings.

A night-before party with a salsa lesson, a Latin social and a bachata contest will take place
on Friday at Alegria’s Seafood and Mexican Grill in Dublin. The rest of the activities will take
place at Emerald City off Sawmill Road.

“Whether you’ve danced for 10 years, one month or never, you will have a heck of a good time,”
said Rubio, a native of Puerto Rico who moved to Ohio when he was 7. “It’s not only for people to
get better in dance but also to meet people.”

Making new friends is exactly why Nichole Siegfried, 28, began taking lessons at Salsamante.

Although family members danced salsa and she would dance at late-night Latin clubs when she
lived in New York, she didn’t take lessons until four months ago.

“It’s just something really different,” said Siegfried, an accessory designer. “I really like
the music.”

Her eyes widen in excitement when she talks about the opportunity to learn from Jorge Burgos and
Tanja Kensinger, whom Rubio considers the “king and queen” of bachata. The Rockville, Md., dancers
and their troupe, Island Touch Dance Academy, will be leading workshops and performing on
Saturday.

“You’re getting to learn from the best,” said Crystal Lindow, another dancer planning to attend
the event. “They bring so much to the floor.”

Lindow, a 23-year-old from Cleveland, fell in love with salsa two years ago, she said. She
travels to Columbus for lessons or socials at least once a week — and to see her boyfriend, who is
a Salsamante instructor and disc jockey.

“You haven’t been able to get me off the floor,” she said, donning strappy, rhinestoned dance
heels.

Jeff Stein, owner of Emerald City, and Rubio hosted a similar event in March.

Stein hopes that dance-specific festivals can help expand the salsa community in central
Ohio.